I think this guy lost his girlfriend, some lover, and is going haywire over it. He wants to go back to his "mother's shoulder" and find that affection/connection once again. [According to Freud, we are always trying to recreate the relationships we had with our parents in our adult life. ]
He find himself feeling like he did as a child, "a poor glistening child stands again so cold". [Freud also writes of our pains as a reflection of the needs that were not met as children.]
This line "she was your first and your last" is particularly interesting, as it sounds like it's about the lover. But in this Freudian interpretation, it is more likely the mother. She is the one he is trying to find in his romantic life.
Then there's this other layer. All of these images of God come into the song. This too points to Freud, who claimed that religion was a neurosis. This guy is getting sent on a psychological trip upon experiencing this loss.
Freud's book Totem and Taboo (wikipedia description http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freud_and_religion) mirrors the song pretty well. The images are the same.
I don't know how exactly to make sense of everything, other than to say that the narrator was triggered into this bizarre and internal psychological experience. And the way it sounds is so perfect. It's got this eerieness, this driving energy, and a general essence of chaos. A fucking awesome tune.
I am getting some major Freudian vibes here.
I think this guy lost his girlfriend, some lover, and is going haywire over it. He wants to go back to his "mother's shoulder" and find that affection/connection once again. [According to Freud, we are always trying to recreate the relationships we had with our parents in our adult life. ] He find himself feeling like he did as a child, "a poor glistening child stands again so cold". [Freud also writes of our pains as a reflection of the needs that were not met as children.] This line "she was your first and your last" is particularly interesting, as it sounds like it's about the lover. But in this Freudian interpretation, it is more likely the mother. She is the one he is trying to find in his romantic life. Then there's this other layer. All of these images of God come into the song. This too points to Freud, who claimed that religion was a neurosis. This guy is getting sent on a psychological trip upon experiencing this loss. Freud's book Totem and Taboo (wikipedia description http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freud_and_religion) mirrors the song pretty well. The images are the same.
I don't know how exactly to make sense of everything, other than to say that the narrator was triggered into this bizarre and internal psychological experience. And the way it sounds is so perfect. It's got this eerieness, this driving energy, and a general essence of chaos. A fucking awesome tune.